May 21, 2004
Allard Beutel
Headquarters, Washington
(Phone: 202/358-4769)
RELEASE: SS04-010
INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION STATUS REPORT: SS04-010
Aboard the International Space Station (ISS), the Expedition 9 crew is
closing out its first month in space with a busy week of spacewalk
preparations that included a spacesuit dress rehearsal.
During the check of U.S. spacesuits on Wednesday, Commander Gennady
Padalka and NASA ISS Science Officer Mike Fincke discovered a problem
with the cooling system in Padalka's suit. Additional troubleshooting
and further checks are planned.
The suit checkout was conducted in preparation for a spacewalk to
replace a failed power controller on the Station's truss. The repair
is expected to restore power to a Control Moment Gyroscope (CMG),
which lost power in April. Two other CMGs on the Station continue to
operate well and are controlling the complex's orientation. The
spacewalk is expected to take place no earlier than June 16.
The suit checkout was planned to last about seven hours, but it was
cut short when Padalka reported no cooling. He reported small bubbles
and froth in the water supposed to circulate through lines to provide
the cooling. Today, Padalka and Fincke drained and replaced the water
in the cooling system of Padalka's suit. Tomorrow, they're scheduled
to check Padalka's refilled suit cooling system to verify water will
circulate. If needed, they also may test the operation of a check
valve in the system.
During the Wednesday dress rehearsal, the cooling system for Fincke's
suit also experienced brief problems, but a sticky valve was quickly
identified as the likely cause. It's not considered a concern for his
suit's operation.
If the troubleshooting is successful on Padalka's suit, several steps
remain before spacewalk plans are finalized, including another U.S.
spacesuit dress rehearsal. If needed, the spacewalk could be done in
Russian Orlan spacesuits.
Also this week, Station ground controllers fired the Progress (13)
spacecraft engines for 11 minutes, boosting the Station's altitude by
2.3 statute miles and adjusting its inclination by one one-hundredth
of a degree.
Progress (13) is to undock from the Station Monday at 5:19 a.m. EDT,
clearing the way for the arrival of a new Progress supply spacecraft.
Progress (14) is scheduled to launch at 8:34 a.m. EDT Tuesday from
the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The new Progress will dock
Thursday at 9:55 a.m. EDT. The maneuver will be carried live on
NASA-TV.
In addition to fuel, food and supplies, the new Progress will bring
U.S. spacesuit gloves, sized specifically for Padalka and Fincke, as
well as other suit components.
The Expedition 9 crew also continued science work this week,
conducting body scans using an ultrasound device. This is part of a
research program to determine whether minimally trained crewmembers
can perform advanced examinations with the assistance of a doctor in
Mission Control. After computer-based training last week, the crew
spent two sessions this week with body scans including scans of the
elbow, knees, abdomen and chest.
The crew also replaced the hard drive in the Space Acceleration
Measurement System, a system that provides data for a research
program measuring how small vibrations may affect nearby sensitive
experiments such as crystal growth studies.
For information about NASA and agency missions on the Internet, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov
Information about crew activities on the Space Station, future launch
dates, and Station sighting opportunities from Earth, is available on
the Internet at:
http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/
Details about Station science operations are available on an Internet
site administered by the Payload Operations Center at NASA's Marshall
Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. at:
hthttp://scipoc.msfc.nasa.gov/
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